In our community, there are two nonprofit community hospitals and one Catholic hospital. All are excellent. Each has slightly different founding values and ways of operating. All three have a strong heart and soul, which has been more or less apparent at different times depending on leadership.

So a recent article exploring the shift in how Catholic Hospitals have approached their values and leadership — and the effect that can have — certainly caught my eye.

Catholic Hospitals used to be run, of course, by nuns. Increasingly, however, as the Fierce Healthcare article describes, “Catholic hospitals are much more likely to be run by lay executives who don’t serve as a human embodiment of religious roots.”

There may be multiple positive aspects of this shift. Perhaps the hospitals are able to serve a broader base of people with a greater diversity of religious backgrounds or values. Perhaps the lay leadership is stronger in some technical aspects of running or managing the hospitals. But the author of this article points out that the shift away from hospitals’ original values “can actually hurt their bottom line, as Catholic hospitals lose the loyalty of community members who sense an erosion of the values that were long integrated into their care.”

In other words, although it may seem that the immediate effect is one of broadening and strengthening, there may be side effects — as of any strong medicine — that outweigh the positives. As the author concludes, we in medicine are in a unique place that is at the intersection of art, science, morality, and human caring. Indeed, “hospitals are seen as more than just a business – they are often seen a reflection of the overall health of a community.”

I don’t have a detailed understanding of the specifics of Catholic hospitals and how these shifts to lay leadership have affected them. That said, I have found on a personal, business, and medical level — that when you dilute or don’t lead with your values, it may seem practical but leads to negative consequences.

Collaboration is about declaring to ourselves and our colleagues that we have a unique perspective, unique skills, and unique values as individual providers. We’re not a generic “healthcare provider” that can be swapped in for any other provider. If that were the case, any provider could provide the same care as any other — and collaboration would be far from necessary.

Let there be no mistaking it: when we lead with our values, and care for patients from our unique set of strengths, weaknesses, and values — we are more interdependent with our colleagues and we end up with a more unique role in the process. For providers who want to see themselves as invincible, this can be uncomfortable. But, as with the example of the hospitals, there may be immediate, short term benefits to diluting our values and trying to be all things to all people — but ultimately, it results in weaker care.

In fact, I think that is one reason that iClickCare, and telemedicine-based medical collaboration in general, is so effective. When we are able to collaborate, to reflect on cases, and to lead (and treat patients) with our values, we get better results. As the article author emphasizes, “There’s benefit in continuing to cultivate the essence of local hospital’s unique personality and roots, even as the benefits of system affiliation are stressed.”

It takes courage to practice medicine from your own unique perspective and strengths, rather than from an imaginary “generic” place. But the rewards are great — and so is the care.

For more stories of courage, medicine, and medical collaboration, download our Quick Guide to Medical Collaboration: